Seoul: Won, shares inch down on Fed decision; Samsung at record high

[SEOUL] The South Korean won ended near a one-week low on Thursday, while shares edged lower as Federal Reserve's decision to trim its portfolio starting from the next month and its signal of another rate hike by year-end hurt riskier assets.

The won was quoted at 1,132.7 to the US dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, down 0.4 per cent compared with Wednesday's close of 1,128.3.

Seoul stocks, however, got modest support from gains in heavyweight tech shares such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) closed down 0.2 per cent at 2,406.50 points.

Samsung Electronics ended up 1.1 per cent at 2,640,000 won, its highest-ever closing price as the company's earnings were expected to surpass market consensus.

SK Hynix was up nearly three per cent, ending at more than a 16-year high, as investors cheered it being part of the winning consortium for Toshiba's chip unit.

REUTERS